by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

by Lindsay H. Jones, USA TODAY Sports

When he wasn't walloping a (willing) fan on the fairway of a Lake Tahoe golf course, A.J. Hawk spent the offseason dreaming about hitting quarterbacks â?? hitting them himself, of course, but also watching his Green Bay Packers teammates terrorize quarterbacks in the NFC North.

Offseason practices provided Hawk and the Packers a glimpse of what might be possible with Clay Matthews on one side of the defense, and newcomer Julius Peppers rushing from the other.

"We've seen it in practice so far, and it should be awesome. When you have guys like that on opposite sides, offensive linemen and quarterbacks hate that. It scares them," Hawk told USA TODAY Sports while preparing to play in the American Century Championship tournament this week in Lake Tahoe where a fan asked Hawk to tackle him. "With a guy like Julius, his physical presence alone is ridiculous."

The division might feature some of the league's most exciting offensive players in the Packers' Aaron Rodgers and Detroit's Calvin Johnson and Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, but the same teams' pass rushers will provide some of the most interesting fodder as training camps open this week.

This is after an offseason in which Peppers relocated from Chicago to Green Bay, and Jared Allen move from Minnesota to Chicago as part of the Bears' plan to overhaul their defensive line. The Bears also signed Lamarr Houston from Oakland and Willie Young from Detroit, and used a pair of high draft picks on defensive tackles.

"It's always been really competitive. The NFC North, every team can play, but shifting guys around, jeez, it's going to be even more fun to watch I think," Hawk said.

The old faces in new places certainly add intrigue to the NFC North, a division won by the Packers the past three seasons. But which defense could have the biggest impact?

Former Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said he expects significant improvement from his old team, in part because of Allen and Houston, and the healthy return of players such as cornerback Charles Tillman. But Urlacher told USA TODAY Sports he's also expecting a big season from quarterback Jay Cutler, which should go a long way to helping the Bears' defense.

"They'll be much better," Urlacher said. "They're going to be scoring a lot of points on offense, so it's just a matter of holding people every once in a while."

In Detroit, Young's move to Chicago left a vacant spot at defensive end opposite 2013 first-round pick Ziggy Ansah â?? a spot likely to be filled by former Seahawk Jason Jones, who spent last season on the Lions' injured reserve after suffering a torn patellar tendon in September.

And in Minnesota, the Vikings are hoping homegrown defensive ends Brian Robison and Everson Griffen, along with first-round pick outside linebacker Anthony Barr, will be able to replace Allen, who took his 128 1/2 career sacks to the Bears.